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CHAPTER 16

Samuel Is Sent to Bethlehem.1a The LORD said to Samuel: How long will you grieve for Saul, whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for from among his sons I have decided on a king.*2But Samuel replied: “How can I go? Saul will hear of it and kill me.” To this the LORD answered: Take a heifer along and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.”
3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do; you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.b

Samuel Anoints David.4Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him. When he entered Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and asked, “Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
5He replied: “Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. So purify yourselves and celebrate with me today.” He also had Jesse and his sons purify themselves and invited them to the sacrifice.c6As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the anointed is here before the LORD.”
7But the LORD said to Samuel: Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The LORD looks into the heart.d8e Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel, who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
9Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
10In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
11Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he arrives here.”f12Jesse had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth with beautiful eyes, and good looking. The LORD said: There—anoint him, for this is the one!g13Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. Then Samuel set out for Ramah.h

David Wins Saul’s Approval.14*i The spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and he was tormented by an evil spirit from the LORD.
15So the servants of Saul said to him: “Look! An evil spirit from God is tormenting you.
16If your lordship will order it, we, your servants here attending to you, will look for a man skilled in playing the harp. When the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he will play and you will feel better.”
17Saul then told his servants, “Find me a good harpist and bring him to me.”
18j One of the servants spoke up: “I have observed that a son of Jesse of Bethlehem is a skillful harpist. He is also a brave warrior, an able speaker, and a handsome young man. The LORD is certainly with him.”

David Made Armor-Bearer.19Accordingly, Saul dispatched messengers to ask Jesse to send him his son David, who was with the flock.
20Then Jesse took five loaves of bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them to Saul with his son David.k21Thus David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul became very fond of him and made him his armor-bearer.l22Saul sent Jesse the message, “Let David stay in my service, for he meets with my approval.”
23Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take the harp and play, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, for the evil spirit would leave him.

* [16:1] David is anointed two more times after Saul’s death (2 Sm 2:4; 5:3). In 17:28, his brother Eliab is not aware of David’s selection. These repetitions and inconsistencies reflect the final editor’s use of multiple sources.

* [16:14–23] These verses explain Saul’s loss of divine favor and David’s rise to power. By approving the young man, Saul identifies David as his legitimate successor. Of the two traditions in the Hebrew text about David’s entry into Saul’s service, the Greek translation retains only the one found in vv. 14–23; 17:1–11, 32–54. An evil spirit from the LORD: Saul’s erratic behavior is attributed to a change in the Lord’s relationship with him. Cf. Jgs 9:23, where the Lord puts an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem.

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